Until recently, I had no idea what a black lime was, let alone how to cook with one. A foodie friend gave me some, and the discovery has proved amazing.

Essentially, they are Persian limes blanched in brine, then left in the sun to dry until they turn black. At this point they’re completely dehyrdated and rock-hard. The flavour is obviously of lime, but a lime which is intense, earthy and astringent, with a depth of flavour difficult to describe. It’s like the difference between a mushroom and a truffle.

Naturally I had to try making my own. Lacking the Persian variety, I used the Tahitian limes which grow in abundance in my backyard. After a few months in my greenhouse the skin turned dark brown. The flesh, although not black, was still dark.

The best way to use these limes is chop them roughly then grind to a powder - the aroma is incredible. I mixed it with a little salt, freshly ground cumin and olive oil to make a paste for some thinly sliced steak. After marinading a little, I quickly pan fried the meat. The flavour I can only describe as amazing - it’s be great also for chicken or seafood.

I also took a whole lime and added it a cauliflower soup, after first putting in a few holes with a skewer to let the stock in and the flavour out. I gently sautéed my onions, added a whole cauliflower after first cutting it into florets, the poached the lot in my forever stock (more to come on this). By the time the soup was ready to puree, the lime was falling apart - I scrapped out the inner flesh and added it to the mix. All that was needed was a touch of salt and pepper and some fresh bread.

As you can see in the photo below, my limes ground to a lighter powder than the bought ones - but were still impressivey intense in flavour. With the drying time taking a few months, I just need to keep adding a few to the greenhouse to keep up a constant supply.

My limes - a lighter brown - with the ground powder of mine on the left, a bought black lime on the right

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